Illinois basketball is back in action on Friday night against Ottawa in an exhibition game.
While the game doesn’t count for the record, the Illini need to use this game to tune up the team and gel a little more before the regular season starts.
It will be interesting to see what Brad Underwood does with the lineup and rotations. There are questions that could end up being answered on Friday night.
Here are five burning questions for the Illinois basketball team against Ottawa
1. What does the point guard rotation look like
During the summer exhibition games over in Spain, Illinois fans got to see what the coaching staff was thinking when it came to the point guard position.
There was a rotation of three options at the No. 1 guard spot. Illinois’ coaches had Ty Rodgers, Niccolo Moretti, and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn all get some playing time in this role. Against Ottawa on Friday night, I will be keeping an eye out to see the timeshare of these three guards at the No. 1 guard spot.
What I believe will happen is that Rodgers is going to get the start. I could see him getting most of the shine, but throughout the game, it wouldn’t shock me to see Rodgers move to other positions on the court as well. I look for Rodgers to get around 20-25 minutes each night.
I believe Moretti will be the next point guard off the bench. He showed a ton of promise over in Spain, and the fact he joined the Illini in the middle of last season means he understands this team more than Gibbs-Lawhorn. I see Moretti getting 7-12 minutes each night.
Gibbs-Lawhorn will see time this season too, but I have him as the third option. It wouldn’t shock me to see him take a redshirt down the road, though. The future is bright for this kid.